We've been having green smoothies each day with camu camu berry and goji berry powders and of course the greens powder (Enerex) and chlorella in them... trying to fend off the cold (I haven't got a trace of it yet; I'm hoping my raw immune system is in top form - seems to be)... fwiw my kids eat cooked food (1 vegetarian & 1 omnivore, their choice) and i do often wonder if they ate raw if it wouldn't boost their immune systems as well.
The whole debate about do I let my children choose their own diet or do I decide for them is one I think of a lot. It's sort of silly. I mean, I don't leave alcohol sitting on the counter and say, hey, choose for yourself, okay? Or I don't leave cigars or cigarettes out saying the same thing. Knowing what I know about cooked food, WHY do I even have it in the house at all?!? Well, part of it is that when I transitioned from the SAD to a vegan diet 3 yrs ago, it was an abrupt/overnight shift and I felt it would be unfair for me to suddenly dictate that all non-vegan foods must go... NOW! How would that respect where the others in the family were at in their journeys? dh is a BIG fan of meat & potatoes, not to mention alcohol... ;) I mean, less than 24 hours earlier, I'd been quite content (or so I thought) eating SAD foods. So who was I to demand they go?! Fast forward 2 years and I decide to go raw. Again, I have the same debate in my head. Who am I to demand that all non-raw foods go? Can't I be tolerant - nay, accepting - of my dear family's food choices? I have thought that the best way to win them over to raw, to influence them, is to radiate joy on my raw diet... just being the healthiest, happiest me I can possibly be on raw foods. And hopefully, just hopefully, it will rub off on them. :) (Now you know my subversive plan, lol) Anyways, it has been a struggle, having non-raw foods around and making non-raw meals (being the primary chef in the house).
Something else I've thought about from time to time (and this might be tmi for you, lol, depending on where your mind goes) is what an intimate relationship would be like where both people are raw. I spend perhaps an indecent amount of time wondering what it must be like... ever since I saw a poll on a raw vegan website about whether you would only date other raw vegans, or would the other person's dietary choice not matter to you. Some of the comments from people who would only date other raw fooders appeared pretty, um, extreme, at the time... and yet, in a way, I could also see that if both people were on such a rawsome journey at the same time, so connected to your food, to your spirit, to everything in your life... how authentic your relationships could become.... (drifts off into a daydream yet again).... oh, sorry. I'm baaaack. lol Anyways, if you have thoughts on this, please do share.
Most of my thoughts lately have been on the (rather grandiose) plans I have for spring & summer.... things like tilling the field and planting oats and flax and possibly some wheat (did I mention I have to fence the field, too - and it's larger than an acre?!). Like building a cob oven and getting a chicken coop and run built so that we can get chickens in a month or two... Like building a 3-bin compost system and also a composting toilet. Like finishing the railing on the front deck, stairs, the garden path and retaining wall, and getting the herb garden weeded and looking lovely (and producing food, most importantly!)... Like fencing in the fruit trees so the deer and bears will leave them alone. SOOOOOO many (outdoor) plans, and just little ol' me makin' it happen. :P It's late winter. This always happens to me this time of year. ;)
I've now logged 6,679,333 meters (that's 6679 kms, or the distance from Victoria, BC to Corner Brook, NFLD... one way, LOL) on my rowing machine in the past 56 months, an average of 119,273m a month, or about 120 kms a month (and there have been many months where I did nothing). Right now I'm rowing each weekday for about 25 minutes (5 kms a day), so that's 100 kms a month. Very reasonable. (that's soooooo unlike me.
2 comments:
Hey N, You are looking radiant!
I have asked the same question about raw foods and my kids in particular. Knowing what I know now I feel like a bad mother feeding them foods that I know are filled with chemicals and no nutrients..as well as cooking nutrients out of anything healthy they may want to ingest. My first reaction was.."You're eating this way too!" I realize though that how I am eating is not an easy transition for everyone to make, and like you said...they aren't at that part of their own journey....
BUT I am their mother, and thus responsible at this time for their health and well being, as well as their education. So I have been slowly introducing more raw fruits and veggies with some of their healthier cooked food choices. I have stopped buying junk food and I am transitioning from white flour and sugar products to whole grains and more natural "sweet choices". I realize that they have their fav. things that are cooked, and lucky for us the kids are both healthy. So my long term plan looks do- able. Before they know it they will be at least 70% raw and happy.
When I first started this I wanted to throw out all chemicals and cooked food, and scream from the rooftops about how we are all slowly killing ourselves...but I realize now that it is a process..education is the key. I think when people are generally healthy, and eating some cooked food along with raw food and incorporating enzymes it is still a healthy way of life..being the example they watch will make the greatest difference in the end!
You got it goin on..
Loves*
Thanks, Kel...
I want to add that our house doesn't usually have any white sugar in it; I've been using sucanut for a while now. And I usually buy light org. spelt flour or sometimes unbl org white flour from our food co-op. I feel a little better about it knowing its organic, even if it is still white flour, but i'm slowly moving away from the white flour and more onto the light spelt & whole wheat.
My kids are really quite healthy - there's very little junk food around (apart from what dh brings in the house) and they only drink water, or sometimes milk or juice, but rarely. They LOVE smoothies and eat a decent amount of raw food (close to 50%?). But I still want to encourage them to eat even more. LOL Like you say, when you know firsthand the benefits of raw, it's really hard to cook food for them at times...
It's actually quite good, I think that dh and I have such diverse perspectives on food (he is SUCH a meat & potatoes guy!)... the kids are the balance, the middle-ground between us.
To each their own... :)
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